Willis man publishes first children’s book

Published 12:00 am, Monday, February 6, 2012

Ricky Gott, of Willis, signs copies of his children’s book “I Wish, I Wish ... I Wish to Fish!” Jan. 21 in Huntsville.

Ricky Gott, of Willis, signs copies of his children’s book “I Wish, I Wish ... I Wish to Fish!” Jan. 21 in Huntsville.

Photo: Courtesy Photo

Image 2 of 2

Ricky Gott, of Willis, wrote “I Wish, I Wish, I Wish to Fish!” It is his first children’s book.

Ricky Gott, of Willis, wrote “I Wish, I Wish, I Wish to Fish!” It is his first children’s book.

Willis man publishes first children’s book

1 / 2

Back to Gallery

WILLIS - It all started with a fishing trip. Now, Ricky Gott’s time with his children has become the basis for his first children’s book.

“I Wish, I Wish ... I Wish to Fish!” is the Willis resident’s first of seven book concepts.

“I had to come up with a way to stay connected to my kids, so I started writing these poems and stories,” the divorced father of two said about how he got started writing.

"I Wish, I Wish ... I Wish to Fish" is the adventures of a young boy spending time dreaming of fishing and doing something he loves, according to www.rickygott.com.

“I’m a fisherman,” he said. “My kids were always wanting to go fishing, so (the story) was born out of all the fishing trips.”

Ten years ago, Gott started writing down poems and stories, but it wasn’t until recently that he decided to make those stories into books for other children to read.

“They thought it was cool,” he said of sharing the stories with his children, Andrew, now 20, and Riley, now 12. “When I went on long trips with them, we’d play a story game.”

From those games, Gott has created a concept for seven children’s books.

“I have the other five written,” Gott said of his seven-book concepts. “I’m going to try to release one a year. I’m ready to go with them.”

In the spring, Gott will release “Izzards, snow cones, tractors and stuff,” a poetry book for boys.

“I Wish, I Wish ... I Wish to Fish!” is actually a flip book, meaning you read half, flip it over and read a second book. The flip side of “I Wish, I Wish ... I Wish to Fish!” has “IT.”

“It was a play on words,” said Gott, adding it came from his son asking him “what’s an it?” “People can’t be its, but everything else is an it.”

For the past 20 years, Gott has been a teacher. While he’s taught everything from kindergarten to high school and coached, his day job is a world away from his recent fascination. He teaches adults in the gang renunciation and dissociation program of the Windham School District, which is part of the Texas Department of Corrections.

“When I come home, I can escape from that world,” Gott said about writing children’s books.

He keeps a notepad by his bed so when a story idea strikes, he can jot it down.

“It comes in spurts and it goes,” he said. “… It’s a reflection on my kids’ life. It just comes to me.

“I don’t read any children’s authors because I don’t want to borrow a single thing from them. All my stories are my children’s stories.”